Being that academia heavily leans more liberal (in western countries at least) how such a story could explode even if it was fake because of audience bias to "c

Being that academia heavily leans more liberal (in western countries at least) how such a story could explode even if it was fake because of audience bias to "confirming what they already knew" even if they didn't really know it. It didn't pass the smell test with me though, as in my experience the bias was much more subtle and less bias at the lower end (post docs, papers, collaborations) and more bias on the upper end "glass ceiling" (full professorships, flagship universities, academic governing bodies)